In TDMA transmission of signals it is required that all the individual signal components of the TDMA transmission have equal transmission delay. Consequently, a delay interval must be determined for each signal included in the TDMA transmission which when added to the individual signal yields a common loop delay for that signal equal to individual loop delay of the other TDMA signal components. To determine the particular delay to be added to each of the TDMA signal components, a so-called “ranging” procedure is effected when an equipment unit which will transmit the signal is installed, relocated, or otherwise has a disruption in service. A popular prior known ranging procedure is so-called “in-band ranging”, where in-band ranging messages are employed to effect the ranging procedure. Unfortunately, the use of the in-band ranging messages requires that the transmission bandwidth be temporarily interrupted and used for transmitting the in-band ranging messages. Thus, in-band ranging is an intrusive procedure that interferes with normal bandwidth use. Additionally, it is necessary to schedule when the in-band ranging is to be done. Indeed, as the rate at which in-band ranging is scheduled is increased, more and more transmission bandwidth is lost. This is extremely undesirable because the bandwidth cannot be used for other purposes, for example, constant bit rate transmission.